Disney's Doug
Disney's Doug, originally Brand Spanking New! Doug, was a Disney update of a Nickelodeon cartoon which had debuted in 1991. The show was canceled in 1994 and picked up by Disney in 1996. The Disney version is criticized by fans of the original as when the show jumped the shark. The show debuted on the One Saturday Morning block. The show takes place in the city of Bluffington, founded by the Beets in the seventeenth or eighteenth century. Characters *Douglas "Doug" Yancey Funnie- an average boy who narrates each episode through his journal. He is lefthanded and does not like his journal being called a diary. In the original series, he was eleven and a half years old. In this series, he is twelve and approaches puberty by the end of the series. He also hates his middle name. *Judith "Judy" Funnie- Doug's overdramatic sister. She goes to the "Moody School". *Phil Funnie- Doug's father, who is always willing to give advice. He works at the Busy Beaver photo studio. *Lydia Funnie- Doug's kindly mother *Cleopatra Dirtbike Funnie- Doug's baby sister. Her name was chosen based on an overdramatic suggestion from Judy during the Christmas episode. In that same episode, Doug's Christmas list was mistaken for a list of baby names. The word "dirtbike" was chosen as her middle name. Strangely, she is referred to by her middle name in the series. *Bud Dink- Doug's goofy neighbor who is always buying "very expensive" things *Tippi Dink- Bud's wife and the mayor of Bluffington after winning an election against incumbent Bob White upon the revelation as to how inept White really is. *Mr. Swirly- the owner of the local ice cream store and hamburger joint. Doug saved his business in an episode of the original series. Doug was "mayor for the day" as part of a school project, and his dilemma was to decide what to do about melted ice cream getting close to cooling fans. Doug, cluelessly, asked why the chips can't hit the fan. This made Mr. Swirly realize that that would turn the ice cream into chocolate swirlies, Doug's favorite. Mr. Swirly awarded Doug with free ice cream. Mr. Swirly's hair looks like frozen yogurt. *Patti Mayonaise- an African-American girl with blond hair and a Southern accent. She is Doug's love interest. *Roger Klotz- formerly the school bully, he is now rich and rivals Bee Bee for supremacy. *Bee Bee Bluff- a spoiled rich girl descended from the founders of Bluffington. Bee Bee Bluff Middle School, where all the characters go, is shaped like her head and named for her. *Bill Bluff- Bee Bee's executive father. *Porkchop- Doug's anthropomorphic dog. In both series, no one ever finds it odd that he acts like humans. *Stinky- Roger's cat who was believed to be male until she had kittens in an episode of the original show. *Connie Benge- another student at Bee Bee Bluff Middle School. Between shows, she lost significant weight. *Skeeter Valentine- Doug's best friend who has an enormous IQ but acts really weirdly and makes weird noises. Because of his intelligence, he was once sent to college to act as a professor, but quit because he didn't like the students and the fact that they all smoke. He undergoes a growth spurt early in the Disney series. *Guy Graham- The antagonist of the series, replacing Roger. *The Beets- a phenomenally popular rock band in the original series. They were a parody of the Beatles, but with a style more like that of the Ramones. In the Disney series, they break up (much like how the Beatles did). Film The basis for the show came from the film Doug's First Movie. In the film, Doug is trying to protect the Lucky Duck Lake Monster (a parody of the famous Loch Ness Monster). Despite the monster being disguised in a trenchcoat (a classic "disguise" in animated series and films), no one seems to recognize the monster. Doug names the monster Melville after noticing that the monster (somehow able to read and understand English) is interested in Herman Melville's classic novel Moby Dick (which is ironic given that the story of Moby Dick is about a madman trying to destroy a monstrous whale). Another notable change from the original series introduced in the film (aside from the changes noted in the characters list) is the fact that Roger hires the twins to build a giant robot for him (although the robot is not built to scale). As Roger is rich, he can get whatever he wants. However, one would think that Roger's reputation as the former bully would have made him untrustable. Video Game A video game, titled "Doug's Big Game", was released for the Game Boy Color. It is based off of the film. Availability Currently, episodes of Disney's Doug are only available mostly on YouTube, as Nick holds exclusive rights to the franchise. Controversy In one episodes Patti sees an advertisement for a diet plan that convinces her she is fat. She goes on this plan and overexerts herself and her dilemma must be explained by someone else. In one scene she has a vision of herself as morbidly obese, possibly a symptom of a health disorder. Trivia *In one episode, Guy is trying to create his own film. His idea makes many pop culture allusions, including the use of "Free Wally", a reference to the popular film Free Willy. *Guy's name is of French origin, and would normally be pronounced to rhyme with "see". Instead, it is pronounced as it would normally be as an English word. *Internet reviewer the Nostalgia Critic (real name Doug Walker) reviewed the film. He pointed out all the things that make no sense, as well as an instance in which the N in "Funkytown" is nigh inaudible (resulting in it sounding almost like an obscenity). He incorrectly states that the characters are in high school when it is clearly obvious that they are in middle school. He also finds it "insulting" to anyone named Doug (including himself). This comes after he had reviewed the original series. Category:One Saturday Morning Category:Cartoons Category:Film Adaptations